Drama teachers in Western region have decried what they see as mistreatment by the regional Quality Assurance and Standard Office (QASO) during the just concluded Drama Workshop that brought together all drama trainers and judges in the Western region.
The drama teachers, through Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), accused the Western Regional QASO Director Teresa Songwa of poor organization of the workshop despite teachers paying for the training, which was held at St Mathias Secondary School in Busia town from January 19 – 21, 2024.
Led by KUPPET Busia Executive Secretary Okisai Moffats and his Vihiga counterpart Sabala Inyeni, the leaders asked the regional QASO to come clear on how the collected money for the drama training was utilized, complaining that participants had been ill-treated in the 3-day seminar.
“How do you lump teachers in a field for three days without water and food? Each participant had paid Ksh2,500 yet the regional office could not even get them a bottle of water! We have also learned that facilitators have been given meagre allowances, yet some of them have travelled all the way from Nairobi,” complained Inyeni, threatening to take the matter up with the country’s corruption watchdog, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
Okisai observed that when the training was conducted previously at Boarder Palace Hotel in Busia with teachers paying the same amount of registration, they were served water, breakfast and there were projectors for use by the facilitators.
“We are requesting that this kind of extortion should stop. We are putting on notice the regional office as this kind of impunity must stop. Teachers must get value for their money,” he said.
When Education News reached out to Songwa so that she could tell her part of the story and respond to some of the accusations, she stated that she’s not allowed to talk to the media and referred us to the Basic Education Principal Secretary (PS).
“We don’t address journalists; the person who addresses journalists is my PS,” said Songwa.
Efforts to reach the Western Regional Education Director Jared Obiero for comment bore no fruit as by the time this story was published, he had responded to neither our calls, nor to our numerous SMS.
By Roy Hezron
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